Sudbury cosmetics-medical spa opens

Wednesday

SUDBURY – Along with picking up that last ingredient or a new pair of shoes, shoppers can now complete a trip to Sudbury Crossing with a Botox injection or an eyebrow tattoo.

Located on Boston Post Road, Sudbury Med Spa is now open for business. It’s one of 4,200 medical spas in the United States, hybrids of a day spa and a medical clinic that offer services such as permanent makeup and microblading. Combining cosmetics with medicine, many of the services are aimed at improving the appearance of hair loss, scars, discoloration, and other cosmetic problems.

The industry has boomed, with revenues skyrocketing by double-digits since 2010 and by more than 20 percent a year since 2013. According to the American Medical Spa Association, the $4 billion industry is predicted to grow another 8 percent by 2020.

“I’m a person who likes to look good, no matter what,” said NgocTrang Le-Alfonso, the 15-year Sudbury resident who owns the business. “I like beauty, doing anything that helps a woman be beautiful.”

Le-Alfonso, who previously owned a medical spa in Worcester, said many of her clients are cancer patients grappling with hair loss or scars.

Microblading, for example, is a semi-permanent tattoo procedure where a clinician uses a blade to create hair-like strokes to give a natural-looking appearance along the brows. The process, which typically costs $350 to $600, takes about two hours, and the final result can last up to a year. Another option is permanent makeup, which can camouflage scars with ink that matches skin color.

“They feel confident, happier afterwards,” said Le-Alfonso. “They feel more hopeful – it’s not the end of the world anymore."

Experts caution that those interested in visiting medical spas should research the businesses beforehand. In Massachusetts, medical spas are not required to be licensed and are not regulated by the state if they are owned by or affiliated with a physician. Le-Alfonso has several certifications, including laser safety and Blood Borne Illness. She said that she has a medical doctor on the staff, though he will not be in-house at all times.

For patients with breast cancer, Le-Alfonso said she can also use permanent makeup to reconstruct a realistic-looking nipple by implanting pigment into the dermal layer of the skin and using advanced techniques to give a three-dimensional look. Le-Alfonso said she has a consultation with each patient to figure out what procedure is right for them, taking into account their medical history.

The new spa also has services that are centered more on aesthetics, like Botox injections, laser acne and hair removal, and dermal fillers. These types of treatments continue to increase in popularity, with the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery naming Botox as the number one top nonsurgical procedure of 2017 with over a million patients.

Botox injections can take around 15 minutes, said Le-Alfonso. The treatment does not require clients to take time off of work to recover. Many of her patients, she said, come in on lunch breaks and then return to work afterwards. On average, Botox usually is around $12 per unit.

Le-Alfonso said she wanted to bring the services to Sudbury and surrounding towns after noticing there are no medical spas in Sudbury.

"It's very gratifying," said Le-Alfonso.

Zane Razzaq can be reached at 508-626-3919 or zrazzaq@wickedlocal.com and on Twitter at @zanerazz.